Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has singled out four Red Devils for their lack of maturity ahead of the team’s clash against Crystal Palace.

The Portuguese coach has publicly criticised Luke Shaw, Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford for their ‘lack of character and maturity,’ even as he believes they need to become more competitive to realise their potential.

“They are lacking maturity,” the Portuguese tactician told Univision. “I wasn’t a player, obviously, but when I say maturity I mean on a personal level.

Mourinho was interviewed by Hristo Stoichkov, the former Barcelona and Bulgaria forward with whom the Portuguese worked at the Camp Nou in the mid-90s.

“We had more men, we were more mature, we were more prepared for life, we were less protected.

“In English they call it ‘spoilt’, ‘spoilt kids’. Our kids are more spoilt than we were by our parents. We are more mature, we are better prepared. For young people now, it’s a different life on a social level compared to ours.

“The people who surround the players, who protect them too much, who give them – in my opinion – too much care, too many excuses. There’s always an excuse for everything.

“Luke Shaw, who is the left-back of the national team, who arrived there [at United] two years before me. He didn’t know how to compete. He had great potential, yes, but he didn’t know how to compete

“We’re talking about Luke Shaw, Martial, Lingard, Rashford – young, big potential.“But at the end of the day it results in the word I cannot say [cojones], but you use it a lot here… character, personality, they lack a little that natural aggression”

Mourinho also believes that there is no possibility that Alexis Sánchez will be sold in January.